Patek Philippe World Time

Patek Philippe's World Time is the perfect watch for frequent fliers. This timepiece displays 24 time zones at once, which are easily set via a push-piece. Some versions have a colorful, enamel world map. The cases are made of gold.

Highlights

Displays 24 time zones at once

Change between time zones easily via a push-piece

Precise in-house caliber

Yellow, rose, and white gold cases

Chronographs featured in the series

Around the World in a Glance

With the World Time watch, travelers always know what time it is - not just the local time, but everywhere in the world. This feature has transformed the World Time into a cult watch amongst wealthy globetrotters.

Unlike watches such as the GMT Master 11, this World Time watch doesn't have any additional hour hands. Those typically make one full rotation every 24 hours and work together with a 24-hour scale on a rotatable bezel. With this set-up, watches can display a second time zone, but no more than that at once. The World Time, on the other hand, displays the 24 most important time zones in the world at the same time. This is made possible by two rotating discs that form the edge of the dial. The inner disc has a 24-hour scale, while the outermost disc has city names to represent each time zone.

The 24-hour disc displays the local time at the 12 o'clock position, while the city disc displays the name of an important city in the respective time zone above. London, New York, Moscow, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Sydney are all featured on the disc, as are the Azores in the Atlantic and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.

If it's 10 AM in London, the World Time's discs show that it's 12 PM in Cairo, already 6 PM in the evening in Hong Kong, but only 7 AM in Buenos Aires. The 24-hour scale is colored light blue between 7 AM - 6 PM, and dark blue from 7 PM - 6 AM, so that the wearer can more easily distinguish between AM and PM. A sun at 12 PM and a moon at 12 AM make the day and night display even clearer.

The World Time shows off its biggest strength when you're on the road; you can quickly set the current local time via a push-piece at 10 o'clock. The hour hand moves ahead an hour every time you press the push-piece, and the city and 24-hour discs move a step back, counterclockwise. The wearer pushes the push-piece until the proper city and time are displayed on the discs at 12 o'clock. Patek Philippe is the only brand to offer this method of setting the time, where one push-piece controls both the hour hand and both discs.

Notably, the World Time watch displays the local time twice, in two different ways. The hour and minute hand display the local time as a normal two-hand watch, but the 24-hour disc also displays the local time at the 12 o'clock position.

Buying Advice

Are you looking for a luxury watch designed to be the ideal traveling companion? The World Time from Patek Philippe is exactly what you need. It displays the time not only in your current location, but also in 24 different time zones around the world. This elegant dress watch is able to do so thanks to its two rotating discs which display the time and a representative city for each time zone.

The price for a new World Time starts between 30,000 and 35,000 euros. The cases are made of either yellow, white, or rose gold, depending on the version. A pre-owned platinum World Time in good condition can be purchased for around 35,000 euros. The watches come in diameters of 38.5 to 39.5 mm, depending on the version. Since 2016, the standard World Time has been that with reference number5230 (formerly 5130). The round, central part of the dial is hand guilloched.

One of the more expensive World Time versions is that with reference number 5131. It features a colorful, enamel world map in the middle of the dial. The hand-made, colorfast map adds a brilliant, bright touch to the watch, which costs around 100,000 euros new.

If you'd like a stopwatch in addition to the multiple time zone display, then you should take a look at reference number 5930. This World Time chronograph costs around 80,000 euros.

When buying an older World Time watch, you should be careful to note whether the time zones are still accurate, as some have changed. The time difference between Moscow and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is now only three hours, but it used to be four. Additionally, some city names on the city disc have changed. Dubai has replaced Riyadh, for example. However, a vintage World Time watch offers a certain amount of time zone nostalgia.

The World Time Caliber 240 HU

The automatic mechanical caliber 240 HU powers the World Time watches. It has a 48-hour power reserve and a decentralized 22-karat gold mini-rotor.

Patek Philippe indicates the movement deviates between -3 and +2 seconds a day; thus, it easily qualifies as a chronometer. The movement vibrates at 21,600 A/h, equivalent to 3 Hz. The 240 HU has 33 rubies as well as eight bridges, and consists of a total 239 pieces. You can watch the movement in action through the watch's sapphire glass case back.

Independent Since the 19th Century

Patek Philippe was founded in 1851. Antoni Patek (1811 - 1877), a Polish exile, began working with a French colleague, Adrien Philippe (1815 - 1894) in 1845. Philippe had recently invented the crown, which enabled pocket watches to be wound without a key.

Patek and Philippe traveled to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. There, Queen Victoria bought two watches. The royal houses of Denmark and Italy joined their clientele soon after. The New York jeweler Tiffany & Co. then ordered 130 watches. The first Patek Philippe wristwatch was made in 1868, and they received a patent for the first double chronograph in 1902. In 1925, they introduced the first wristwatch with a perpetual calendar, another of their many patents.

Brothers Jean and Charles Henri Stern began running the company in 1932. Previously, the Sterns had produced dials exclusively for Patek Philippe. After his father stepped down in 2009, Thierry Stern took over the company. Every year, around 50,000 watches leave the Patek Philippe production halls in Geneva. Patek Philippe is one of the few remaining independent luxury watch manufacturers, aside from Rolex.